Unforgettable Paris- Day 2

Day 2 of Paris was indescribable but I will try to do my best.  WARNING:  The below may appear to be magical and exotic and romantic!


We took a taxi bright and early on Day 2 to our first stop one of Paris most famous monuments, the Arc De Triomphe.

We took a taxi there and I swear Emily is probably just as good a driver as those on the streets of Paris.  

A beautiful building we drove past.  I don't know what it was called but WOW.

Another old and beautiful building.  These sorts of building were all around.  Just looking at them you could tell they hold some historical importance.

Our first site of the Arc de Triomphe.  It was built to honor the victories of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The tomb of the unknown soldier from World War 1.

The tomb of the unknown soldier to our left and the Champs- Ellysees our our right is flanked by the trees.

We rode up in an elevator and had the take the last 40 steps up to the roof top.

View of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Panoramic shot.

Emily and I enjoying our first sight of the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Champs-Elysses - It starts at Place Charles de Gaulle which is located at the Arc De Triomphe (where we took this picture) and ends at the Place de la Concorde in the distance.  It's 1.2 miles long and we walked the entire thing after leaving the Arc.

My corny tourist picture.  It's just what I do.  I've also held up the Leaning tower of Piza.  

Emily is super snug in my wrap.  She's not too interested in Paris.

Jamie and I in Paris.

A cloudy day but a sight to behold nonetheless.  It's an experience to learn about monuments and historical facts in books but to live it and breath it and see it firsthand is very humbling.

Good-bye beautiful.  If you want to read more about the Arc de Triomphe you can click (Here.)

Walking along the Avenue Champs-Elysses.  We cracked ourselves up trying to pronounce this properly.  We sounded so AMERICAN.

A line to get in.  No thanks.

Taking a picture break along the Champs-Elysses.

Laduree had some perfect macarons.

I have a thing for doors.

Another spectacular door.

Even A & F had an over the top door!

Baby still asleep.  Check.

We are in love with Paris!

An entrance to the Grand Palais.  

The Grand Palais.

Jamie with the Grand Palais in the background.  It was built starting in 1897 as part of the Universal Exposition of 1900.  

A very typical cobblestone crosswalk in Paris.

Jamie along the Champs-Elysses in the Jardin des Champs-Elysses-  A park that contains the Grand Palais, Petite Palais, & The Theatre Marigny.

One of the countless fountains in the city.

A funky art display we were able to litrerally walk right through.

A larger than life moving prism.  

Walking through the Jardin de Tuileries.

There was much to take in in the Jardin de Tuileries.

Emily and I enjoying a perfect fall day in Paris.

One of the many statues in the garden.

Scott, Emily and I in the Tuileries Garden.  It was created by Catherine Medici in 1564. She wanted a palace for herself separate from the Louvre with a garden modeled after her native Florence.  You can read more about the Gardens (here).

That would be some residence wouldn't it!?

Jamie Photobomb.

 I remember taking a picture in front of the Medici Fountain which was originally built in 1630, but it may have been on Jamie's camera.  She took the other half of the pictures!  I'll post those once I get them downloaded to my computer.

The entrance to the Louvre Museum.  We didn't get any closer than this.  Although it was a beautiful site we didn't get any closer.

Our tip about the Louvre was to NOT go! I know I know.  How can you go to Paris and not visit one of the biggest tourists places in the city?  Here me out!  The Louvre is the biggest museum in the WORLD.  It has at any one time approximately 35,000 works of art on display which is roughly 3% of it's total archives.  It would take days, many more days than our entire trip to Paris, to see the Louvre properly.  There are really only a handful of displays that the majority of people go to the Louvre to see, the Mona Lisa being the most iconic and we didn't want to walk past countless works of priceless art, which is what we would have done if we went to the Louvre on this trip.  Now we have a reason to go back to Paris.  I don't know when, but we'll be back!

Walking across the Seine River.

Hello Gorgeous.  This stove can be yours if the price is right!  Here's a clue, it costs more than most cars.

Yummy salad with fried goat cheese.

Jamie's duck.  I'm certain that one of us had duck every single day.  It was mouthwatering!

Jamie overlooking the Seine River with the real gold columns flanking the Grand Palais in the background. 

Same with us.

Well, what do we have here?  We turned the corner and were pleasantly surprised by this unexpected view of the Eiffel Tower.

 Lots of pictures below show the many beautiful angles and sides of the Eiffel Tower.

Camera envy.  Even his assistant held many more cameras and lenses.

Emily decided to pop her head out and get some fresh air.  It was a cloudy day but you could still fully see the Eiffel Tower.  We are facing the Trocadero in this picture.

Jamie with the Eiffel Tower.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero.  

 We met at Trocadero Square to meet up with our tour guide who would take us to the Eiffel Tower.  This exact location where we took these pictures below is also where Hitler stood for his picture taken with the Eiffel Tower in the background.  Google Hitler and Trocadero Square to see the pictures.  We learned about the relationship and importance of the Eiffel Tower, Germany, France, Hitler and World War I.  

Emily and I with the Eiffel Tower in the background.  This is the view from the Trocadero.

Looks like she just wanted one picture and no more!

Aunt Jamie got her in the mood again for another picture!

Beautiful picture!

Our tour guide was phenomenal!

Making our way up the Eiffel Tower.

 An interesting fact about the Eiffel Tower.  It's made of metal and metal rusts.  To keep rust to a minimum the entire tower is painted every 7 years.  It takes roughly 14 months to complete the painting of the tower.  It takes so long in fact that the painting of the tower is broken up into 3 sections starting at the bottom.  Once the bottom is completed a dye is added to the paint to section 2 to match the first section and then more dye is added to the paint when painting section 3.  By the time the painters get to the next section the sun has already faded the first section!  I would hate to have that job!

View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower. We were informed of almost every structure of importance in the entire city of Paris.  See the bridge crossing the Seine River?  On the opposite side of the river is the tunnel where Princess Diana died.  There is a torch that is lit constantly as a memorial to the Princess.

Another view of Paris with Notre Dame in the background and the village of Montmartre.

She's still not impressed with Paris.

Kisses from Daddy.

Champs de Mars from the Eiffel Tower.  It's the park you often see in pictures of the Eiffel Tower and in movies.

The Seine River winding north.

You can read more about the Eiffel Tower and it's architect, Gustave Eiffel, and the hate / love relationship the city has had with it (here.)  It is the most visited paid monument in the world!

After another exhausting day of site seeing- we're back to the food.  

Yummy!